This is the travel blog for Malcolm MacMillan, founder of TheBallparkGuide.com. Visit the website for comprehensive guides to Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball stadiums.

Detroit Tigers – June 4

Although it’s my mission to visit as many ballparks across the major leagues and minor leagues as possible as I continue to build my website, The Ballpark Guide, there are times I can’t resist making a return visit to one of my favorite places. I’ve been to 53 different ballparks since 2010, but ever since I saw a pair of games at Detroit’s Comerica Park in 2011, I’ve been itching to get back. You can read about those visits here and here. Fortunately, I had a chance last week to make a whirlwind trip to the Motor City for a pair of Tigers games.

My day began shortly after 4 a.m. and I was on the road just after 5 a.m. for the eight-hour drive to Detroit. To cross into the U.S., I’ve often taken the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor, Ont., with Detroit. It was drizzling and gray for the latter half of my drive on this trip, so I decided to use the Detroit Windsor Tunnel, located just a short distance west of the bridge. After crossing through customs, I entered the tunnel, which gives the illusion that you’re in a different dimension. This picture isn’t Photoshopped or anything, either. This is actually how it looks down there:

When I emerged from the tunnel in downtown Detroit, I had just a few blocks to drive to reach my hotel. I booked two nights at the Hilton Garden Inn Detroit Downtown for a few reasons. I’ve stayed at numerous Hilton Garden Inn locations over my years of traveling for The Ballpark Guide and have consistently had positive experiences. This particular location is one of the top-ranked Detroit hotels on TripAdvisor and its location is ideal. It’s just two blocks from Comerica Park, which you can’t beat. I often love staying downtown when I’m visiting a downtown park. You can’t beat leaving your car at the hotel, walking through the city to check out the sights and then being back in your hotel room after the game when other fans are sitting in traffic.

The Hilton Garden Inn Detroit Downtown has valet parking, so you don’t have to fuss with finding overnight parking in the area. Once I left my car, I checked in at 3 p.m. with the help of one of the friendliest front desk clerks I’d ever met, who presented me with a gift bag as she gave me my room keys. I’m always excited to get up to my room to check out not only the amenities, but also the view, and both delivered big time. Here’s a look at the room:

I’ll have some more details on my room in my next blog post, but you can see that it looks perfect — king-sized bed, desk, huge TV and more. And as for the view, that was perfect, too:

The large, tan/gray building in the center of the picture is the Detroit Athletic Club, but you can see Comerica Park to the left and right of the club. To the right, you’ll see some of the upper-deck seats and the rear of the scoreboard (complete with the enormous tiger on top) and to the left of the club, if you look carefully, you can see more tiger statues just beside the red-brick building. (This is how much of a baseball nerd I am — analyzing the baseball-centric view out my window.)

Time to check out the gift bag I received upon check in:

It contained a card welcoming me to the hotel and a variety of tasty snacks that I enjoyed in short order. I still had some time to kill before heading down for the game, so I enjoyed standing at the window and taking in the various sights, many of which I recognized from my visit to Detroit in 2011. Here’s a view, for example, of the legendary Fox Theatre and, to the bottom right of the image, you can see one of Comerica Park’s distinctive gates:

At about 4 p.m., I loaded my backpack and set out for the short walk to the ballpark. This is the view from the street right outside the hotel’s entrance:

Football fans will recognize Ford Field on the right, which is home of the NFL’s Lions. Comerica Park is directly across the street, but just out of sight in this shot. Within just a couple minutes, I was standing on the sidewalk in front of Ford Field with this view of the rear of Comerica Park’s video board:

Despite the rain, I was pretty pumped to be once again seeing the Tigers in person. This time, however, I had even more reason to celebrate — the Tigers, who are my second-favorite team, were hosting the Blue Jays, who are my favorite team. I’ve seen the Jays several dozen times in Toronto, but this would be the first time I’d see them on the road. I wanted to buy my ticket at the ticket office on the other side of the park, so I began the walk down a deserted East Adams Street:

I was happy to once again see the tiger-themed gate at the corner of East Adams and Witherell streets, but dismayed at the noticeable change since my last visit:

Yep, metal detectors. These safety features banes of existence will be mandatory at MLB parks in 2015, but the Tigers are among a few teams using them this season. Metal detectors aside, here’s what the glorious-looking gate looks like in panorama form. You can click on all panoramas in this post to make them huge:

I bought the cheapest ticket available — $12 for a spot on the Jungle Rooftop Bleachers, which is an amazing section at Comerica — and snapped a quick shot of my ticket:

I still had 30 minutes to kill until the gates opened, which meant plenty of time to take a wander around the ballpark and capture the scene. The first shots I took were to build this panorama, which looks quite different that the one I shot back when I visited Detroit this January, don’t you think?

And, of course, there were lots of tiger statue photos, like this one …

… and this one:

Hard not to say that Comerica Park has the best-looking gates in baseball, right?

I eventually made a full lap around the park, stopping to snap this photo of the General Motors headquarters, which is several blocks away and dominates the Detroit skyline:

By this time, the gates were soon to open, and I grabbed the first spot in one of the lines in front of the metal detectors. The pavilion around the gate is made up of countless bricks donated by fans and ex-players. You know the drill. Anyway, the bulk of these bricks are fan messages, but when I looked down between my feet, I saw a name that caught my eye:

Baseball hall of famer Whitey Herzog played his last season of baseball as a Tiger before a lengthy managerial career, and it was neat to see the name of someone I instantly knew.

I spent the remaining few minutes before the gates opened talking with a couple members of the park’s security team about the metal detector situation. They said the new system was a pain. One actually joked that he should rent a spot in the parking lot, set up a trailer and have a “check your weapon” business: People leave their weapons with him for $10, and then pick them up again after the game.

The crowds around the gate were sparse, despite it being a fan giveaway game. After successfully passing through the metal detectors and being the first fan into the ballpark through these gates, I was handed a Tigers cloth shopping bag:

(I just informed my wife this bag is too important to use for shopping, and she rolled her eyes and sighed.)

I was thrilled to finally be back inside Comerica Park. As you might have seen if you read my two blog posts from 2011, my second game was postponed due to rain, so I’ve been anxious to return to this park ever since. It was awesome to get to the seating bowl and see the logos of my two favorite teams on the video board:

And look — it was only 4:57 p.m.! The gates had opened a few minutes early, which never seems to happen.

Since the Blue Jays were starting to filter out of the first base dugout to stretch, I zipped down to field level to take some shots. Here are relievers Todd Redmond and Dustin McGowan kicking off a run together:

And the bullpen staff celebrating after completing a run:

Jays pitching coach Pete Walker, who has one of the better mustaches in the majors today, was just a few feet in front of me:

Once the relievers headed into the dugout, I went that direction, too. Although the dugout was empty, it wasn’t long before Jays TV announcer (and former Jays player and manager) Buck Martinez appeared, and was obviously making a point about the intricacies of pitching to a couple other Toronto reporters:

As I hung around the dugout, I had a good, clean view of my theoretical seat for the night in the Jungle section. Check it out:

It’s my favorite section at Comerica; close to the action, affordable and a fun, party atmosphere. You can’t beat it, and I definitely recommend buying your ticket here if you’re visiting Detroit for a Tigers game.

Because it was drizzling, batting practice was off. This meant that with about 1:45 till game time, I had a lot of time to spend wandering around and taking in the sights. My first stop was the concourse booth that sells authentic Tigers items, and it was a blast to browse the game-used balls, jerseys and equipment, as well as the myriad signed items:

One of the staff members was trying to sell me a Victor Martinez signed helmet that was $600.

“Think of it this way,” he suggested, when I offered it was a bit outside my price range. “This time next year, it’ll probably be worth …”

“$400?” I interrupted, making a joke because I knew the direction he was headed before he got there.

“No, $700,” he said, but then admitted, “I have no idea who the player is, anyway.”

After deciding not to part with $600, I began a lap around the park, stopping at the statues in left-center to capture Ty Cobb in his famous spikes-up slide:

Each park I visit seems to have a different setup for the batter’s eye. At Toronto’s Rogers Centre, it’s a black, slightly tattered screen mounted over some empty seating sections. At Cleveland’s Progressive Field, it’s part of Heritage Park. The batter’s eye at Comerica is made of ivy, but has a walkway directly behind it for fans to pass from left field to right field. It’s sort of a bizarre blind spot:

Here’s a look at the area from the far side, after I’d emerged and was standing in right-center:

Because I was in the park so early and the crowd was light due to the rain, there was almost no one in the Big Cat Court when I arrived with dinner on my mind. The Big Cat Court is a fun spot; it’s known for the tigers-themed carousel, but the area’s circular design allows for a multitude of concession stands around the perimeter. I resisted the temptation to take a solo ride on the carousel …

… and instead headed for the Gourmet Hot Dogs stand. I’d heard about the Tigers introducing some notable hot dogs at the start of the season, and after conferring with a couple fans on Twitter, decided this should be my dinner plan. Take a look at this menu …

… and tell me what you’d get. (You can leave a comment at the bottom of this post or hit me up on Twitter.) Against the orders of my future cardiologist, I opted for the Poutine Dog. That’s right — a hot dog topped with french fries, cheese curds and smothered with gravy. As per usual, I took a photo of my food before tackling it. Ready?

And, as I’ve done in the past with difficult-to-eat items, took the long climb to the upper deck so I could eat it without making a scene. Once I’d grabbed a spot in the very top row of the stadium, I literally looked at the dog for about two minutes to figure out my eating strategy. I’d neglected to grab a fork, and had no idea how to dig in. But then, it hit me. I opened the end of the cardboard container much like the landing crafts used in the Allied assault on D-Day — history buffs will get the reference:

Doing so provided newfound access to the mass of gluttony. Soon enough, the only evidence that remained were a few curds on the ground and, I’m sure, some gravy on my face.

Next, partly to burn off a few of the calories I’d just taken in, I descended back to field level to hang out behind home plate. I can’t stress enough how awesome the Comerica Park ushers are. They’re hands down the best I’ve encountered on my travels throughout the major leagues. At some parks, you’re not allowed to get behind home plate before the game. Not a problem here. And when game time approaches, there’s no mass push to get every fan out of the area. Now, this isn’t to say I try to sneak into a seat at field level, but I do enjoy hanging out on the cross-aisle behind the field level seats. And although there are signs saying that standing is prohibited, the ushers don’t employ the Gestapo techniques common at other parks. Rogers Centre, I’m looking your way. It’s an extra reason to visit Comerica Park. The ushers truly make you feel welcome and you get the sense the team appreciates you buying a ticket. Anyway, here’s where I was standing, just to the third base side of home plate:

While I stood in this area, the rain let up and the grounds crew removed the tarp. Success! It wasn’t long before the Tigers started to filter into the dugout. Here’s starter Rick Porcello having a last-minute chat with Tigers pitching coach Jeff Jones:

(Check out the giant jar of gumballs in the background.)

I stayed in the front row behind the Tigers dugout during the anthems, getting the opportunity to snap photos of guys like future hall of famer Omar Vizquel, now a coach with Detroit:

And manager Brad Ausmus sharing a laugh with Justin Verlander:

By the time first pitch came around, I headed over to the first base side, standing in the cross aisle behind the Jays dugout. From here, I was able to get a bunch more close-up shots of the players, but I’ll just share this wide-angle one I took of Porcello delivering to Melky Cabrera:

Cabrera crushed the next pitch into the seats in right field for his ninth home run of the season and celebrated with Jose Bautista right in front of where I was standing:

Speaking of home runs, I was pumped to get another chance to see Miguel Cabrera in the bottom of the first. He’s probably my favorite current player who doesn’t wear a Blue Jays uniform, so I stayed put to watch his first plate appearance. This was the swing he put on a fastball from R.A. Dickey …

… and this was the result:

That’s the Chevrolet fountain in center field going off after the ball landed in the left field stands for Cabrera’s 11th home run of the season. Being so close to home plate when Cabrera made contact, I can unequivocally tell you it sounded different than the average hit. Absolutely incredible power, and a treat to watch.

I moved my position closer to the rear of home plate for the remainder of the inning, enjoying this outstanding view:

And then, with the game underway, resumed my travels around Comerica Park. My first mission was to head up to the Jungle Rooftop Bleachers area, not to find my seat, but rather to check out the New Amsterdam 416 Bar, which is new since my last visit. It’s an upscale, bar-style hangout between the Jungle and the right field seats. It’s got a bunch of comfy seating, and even a flaming bar. That’s not what I mean. A bar that flames? That doesn’t sound right, either. Well, just look at the photo and you’ll see some flickers of the flames:

Next, my travels took me past the Fox Theatre, where I snapped this shot of the sun beginning to set …

… and up to the upper deck. From here, I was able to spot my hotel, which I hadn’t been able to see yet. See the Grand Valley State University building? Look right above it and you’ll see a red-bricked building with white window frames. That’s the Hilton Garden Inn Detroit Downtown:

I watched a few innings from the upper deck, happy to take a seat after being on my feet for the last four-plus hours. The game was entertaining to watch — after the teams traded first-inning home runs from the Cabreras, the score remained close and I cut the tension by hitting a Little Caesars kiosk and buying a slice of pizza that was hands down the best ballpark pizza I’ve eaten. I couldn’t resist Little Caesars, given the connection to the Tigers. Mike Ilitch, the Tigers owner, got the start of his billion-dollar empire by founding Little Caesars.

Now, this next part might make you hungry, so be forewarned: The individual slices are square pieces so you get that delicious cheese-coasted crust on two sides. As an added bonus, you can get pouches of dried red pepper flakes to sprinkle on your slice. I’m contemplating going back to Detroit just for another piece or seven:

I spent the game’s latter innings in the outfield seats with this spectacular view:

One of the great features about Comerica Park is its view of the Detroit skyline, which you’ve seen in the previous images. One of my favorite parts of the skyline is the David Broderick Tower, which is characterized by its enormous mural of whales. I could see part of this building from my hotel room and, as I sat in the left field seats, had a great view of it at night over the Comerica Park statues:

The Jays blew the game open in the late innings, scoring three runs in the eighth inning and two in the ninth to claim an 8-2 win. The final out took place at 10:22 p.m. and from my seat below the video board, I had easy access to the final box score:

The walk back to my hotel was quick and provides another reminder why the Hilton Garden Inn is your best choice if you’re visiting Comerica Park. If you’re a little nervous about walking in the city at night, I can assure you that the walk from the park to the hotel is perfectly safe. Not only are there plenty of cops directing traffic, but you’ll find yourself in a throng of fans for the entire walk.

I was anxious to get back to my room and check out the night scene, and it didn’t disappoint. In the following panorama, you can see not only Comerica Park, but the bright lights of the Fox Theatre and plenty more. What a view!

I enjoyed the view on and off for the evening and finally got to bed after 1 a.m., or about 21 hours after my day began. A few short hours later, I’d be heading back to Comerica Park for a day game with perfect weather, Verlander on the mound, a return visit to the hot dog concession stand and a whole lot more.

8 Comments

Good to hear from you!
Yeah, they all look great, but I’m not crazy about the sound of the Slaw Dog. I stuck with the menu during my next game, so keep an eye for my upcoming blog post.
Thanks for reading!
Malcolm

I don’t think you can go wrong with anything from Leo’s Coneydog. They are one of the best I’ve tried over the 15 stadiums that I went to in 2013. I was also impressed with how safe downtown is after the game. I remember seeing a night game at the old Tigers stadium and you didn’t dare venture more than a couple hundred of yards beyond the parking lots at night.

Hi Derek,
I haven’t had a Coneydog at Leo’s yet, actually, so thanks for the recommendation. I did have a Chicago Dog at Comerica back in 2011, and it was excellent. Yes, the downtown is great. I was never at the old park but the neighborhood definitely doesn’t look very appealing.
Thanks for reading!
Malcolm

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